How Our History Can Help Us Shape Our Future

200 years ago, Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner in the Baltimore harbor near Fort McHenry.As a Baltimore guy, this past weekend was glorious.  There were thousands of people celebrating the bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner in the Baltimore area, tall ships from all over the world were in the harbor, the Blue Angels were doing aerial shows, there were fireworks and the Orioles were beating the Yankees in an important series.  (That has no bearing on the bicentennial, but it makes being in Baltimore a lot more fun.)  It was a great weekend to look back at our country’s history and reflect upon where we’ve been as a country and where we’re headed. 

Reflecting upon where you’ve been and where you’re going is a useful exercise, not only from a U.S. History perspective but also from a “my financial life” perspective.  Recently, I met with someone who I have had the opportunity to meet several times over the course of the last 3-4 years.  When we started talking, he had nearly $50,000 in credit card debt and was being told by friends and family that he should consider bankruptcy.   He didn’t want to go down the bankruptcy path.  His viewpoint was that he took on the debt with his habit of living beyond his means and since it was his behavior that got him in trouble; it would be his behavior that got him out of trouble.

I helped him map out a plan to work his way out of credit card debt.  We met again recently and he was starting to get very discouraged and his financial behavior was starting to regress.  He had gotten his balances down from nearly $50,000 to just over $10,000 in the course of a few years.

Why was he discouraged?  He felt like he had worked very hard to be fiscally responsible and he still had $10,000 in credit card debt.  He was measuring his debt at one point in time and not looking at where he started.  I reminded him of that and he started to see how far he had come.  Much like any goal, progress often comes in small measures and can go unnoticed, and there is often a period of regress in the midst of progress.  Taking a look back at your progress can help you regain momentum toward an important goal.

Here is something you can do to move your life, financial and otherwise, forward.  Write down 3 important goals that you are in the midst of trying to reach or that you plan to begin trying to reach.  For goals that are in progress, think back to where you stood at the beginning of that goal.  Take a step back and admire the progress you’ve made and recommit to reaching your goals.  Get re-focused, get re-energized and find a way to track your progress.

I’ve been using a website called stickk.com with a few friends who are involved in a fitness challenge.  I have a friend doing a weight loss challenge who is using stickK as a means of tracking progress.  It’s a cool website and you can create customized goals, and even institute penalties or charitable contributions into reaching your goals.

Once you’ve written down your goals and started tracking them (either manually, with stickK or with some other measuring tool), keep one eye on the future and continue to work diligently toward the goal even when there are financial “bombs bursting in air.”  But keep one eye on the past because a historical look back can help you maintain your perspective and help you maintain your motivation, which is a very important part of reaching goals.  Motivation + Perspiration = Success.  Combining hard work with motivation will get you to nearly any goal that matters to you.

 

More like this:

The No-Tracking Budget

The No-Tracking Budget

Putting together a budget is one thing, sticking to it is another ...
Read More
3 Clever Ways to Trick Yourself Into Saving Money

3 Clever Ways to Trick Yourself Into Saving Money

Here are a few tricks I use to keep me on the straight and narrow when I’m tempted to raid ...
Read More
gifts for your love that last a lifetime

5 Ways To Help Those Most Impacted By COVID-19

With COVID-19 sending millions to work-from-home and forcing businesses to temporarily shut their doors, nearly everyone is experiencing dramatic changes ...
Read More

Subscribe

Be the first to know when new resources are published.